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Fear of Friday the 13th may be superstitious to some, but to others,it can be taken to an extreme where it devolves into a debilitatingdisorder, according to social phobia experts.

There even is a clinical term for the phobia: “friggatriskaidekaphobia.”

Queen’s University psychology professor Kate Harkness says extreme fear ofFriday the 13th can severely affect work, travel and relationships where people avoid leaving the house on that day.

“There’s nothingwrong with believing that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, as long asit’s not interfering (with your life),” she said.

The Friday the 13th horror movie franchise continues this negative association with the day.

In extreme cases, severe “delusions” about the day or other relatedsuperstitions may escalate to become an obsessive compulsive disorder or schizophrenia, Harkness said, and may require treatment throughanti-psychotic medication. But for the most part, the day is prettyharmless, referred to in pop culture as a time associated with bad luckand nothing more, she said. According to Harkness, pathological types of

superstitious behaviour have been associated with higher levels of thebrain chemical dopamine. Medication may reduce these dopamine levels,she explained.

Harkness noted that believing in superstitionsdoesn’t necessarily mean you are suffering from an extreme phobia. Forinstance, athletes often carry good luck charms, believing they may help them win games. In these instances, superstitions can be used for goodto help motivate people.

On the origins of the Friday the 13thsuperstition, Harkness referred to the medieval classic The CanterburyTales which associated misfortune with occurring on a Friday.

There are other references for tragic events occurring on a Friday, such asthe market crash of the Great Depression, ominously known as “BlackFriday.” In the Christian tradition, Jesus’s crucifixion was also on aFriday, Harkness said.

In western culture, the number 12 is seenas a number of “completeness,” she added, referring to 12 months of theyear and the 12 apostles, with an extra addition seen as breaking thatnotion of “perfection.”

Harkness said negative beliefs aboutFriday the 13th may have started with people’s lack of scientificknowledge about the natural world where people “developed the ritual ofsuperstition.”

Over time, coupling Friday and the number 13 has been seen as “double bad luck,” she explained.